Leopard Mk II
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| Leopard 2 | |
|---|---|
 Leopard Mk II A6 of the Royal Gallian Army | |
| Type | Main battle tank |
| Place of origin |  Gallia-Bruhl |
| Service history | |
| In service | 1980-Present |
| Used by | See Operators |
| Wars | Second Lucis Civil War Imperial Crisis |
| Production history | |
| Designer | Krauss-Maffei |
| Designed | 1970s |
| Manufacturer | Krauss‐Maffei Wegmann Theimer Machinerie |
| Produced | 1980–present |
| No. built | 4,750 |
| Variants | See Variants |
| Specifications | |
| Weight | 2A6: 62.3 tonnes (68.7 short tons) |
| Length | 2A6: 9.97 metres (393 inches) (gun forward) |
| Width | 2A6: 3.75 m (148 in) |
| Height | 2A6: 3.0 m (120 in) |
| Crew | 4 |
| Armour | 2A6: 3rd generation composite; including high-hardness steel, tungsten and plastic filler with ceramic component. |
Main armament | 1× Rheinmetall 120mm L55 smoothbore gun |
Secondary armament | 2× MG3A1 (4,750 rounds) |
| Engine | MTU MB 873 Ka-501 liquid-cooled V-12 Twin-turbo diesel engine 1,479hp |
| Power/weight | 24.1 PS/t (17.7 kW/t) |
| Transmission | Renk HSWL 354 |
| Suspension | Torsion bar suspension |
| Fuel capacity | 1,200 litres (264 imperial gallons; 317 US gallons) |
Operational range | 550 km (340 mi) (internal fuel) |
| Speed | 72 km/h (45 mph) |
The Leopard Mk II is a Gallian main battle tank designed by Theimer Machinerie and Krauss-Maffei Wegmann. The tank first entered service in 1979 and succeeded the earlier Leopard Mk I as the main battle tank of the Royal Gallian Armed Forces. It is armed with a 120 mm smoothbore cannon, and is powered by a V-12 twin-turbo diesel engine. Various versions have served in the armed forces of Gallia-Bruhl, including the Erebonian Empire, Alteria, Jutland-Gimli, Zanarkand, Taoyuan, and Rubrum. The tank has seen action during the Second Lucis Civil War and the Imperial Crisis.
There are two main development batches of the tank: the original models up to Leopard Mk. IIA4, which have vertically faced turret armour, and the "improved" batch, namely the Leopard Mk. IIA5 and newer versions, which have angled arrow-shaped turret appliqué armour together with other improvements. All models feature digital fire control systems with laser rangefinders, a fully stabilised main gun and coaxial machine gun, and advanced night vision and sighting equipment (first vehicles used a low-light level TV system or LLLTV; thermal imaging was introduced later on). The tank has the ability to engage moving targets while moving over rough terrain.
Development
Service History
Leopard Mk. II Heimdallr Package
When the Erebonian Empire was declared as a rogue state by the Neocon-led Allied High Council, many Anti-Neocon Allied commanders were becoming wary of a distinct possibility that a war between the Neocons, and the newly-created Heimdallr Council would take place once the threat of the Autocratic East Europan Imperial Alliance came to an abrupt end. The Neocons were superseding the Heimdallrs with regards to the edge in military technology and capabilities that Heimdallr commanders were given two options; to develop an entirely new type of weapons or to develop far better weapons using the existing technology.
After much debate, it was decided that the Heimdallr Council wanted to avoid the burden of over expenditures with developing weapons that might either succeed or fail, as a result, the latter was chosen as a final decision. Various upgrades were made to several weapons such as the RG 417, RG 420, and even the WoLA-era RG LAG. In addition, various equipment were upgraded such as the Rainford-LAe Typhoon or the UH-20Y Lionheart. Tanks such as the Leopard Mk. II and the Challenger Mk. II were given an upgraded package by the Rainford Group.
Dubbed as the Heimdallr Package, the package included:
- A 130mm RG51 smoothbore gun
- 2x MG3A1 machine guns
- Gywn-class Mine protection belly armour
- Orbal-type Anti AT rocket and IED jamming device
- Stand-off slat armour
- Improved armour protection by modular armour, with frontal protection being improved with a dual-kit on the turret and hull front, with 360° protection capability against AT rockets and mines.
Tanks that had been fitted with the package were designated as the Leopard Mk. IIA7-RG. It saw its first tank-on-tank combat against Neocon tanks during Operation Total, in which Leopard tanks hidden in well-camouflaged positions posed a threat against Neocon armour, who were roughly deemed to be "exceedingly superior" by the Neocons. At least 10 Leopard tanks from the 4th Erebonian Armoured Division faced off against 30 tanks of the 2nd Mixed Armoured Division consisting of Concordian, Joyonghean, and Trabian tanks. In a course of a 30 minute engagement, the Erebonian tanks knocked out at least 19 tanks while suffering only 3 damaged tanks.
The package had also found its way to Africanna, where the Basel-Ebelian Army's Leopard tanks were wholly fitted with the upgrade package.
Users
Alteria
Crossbell State
Dalmasca and Nabradia
Esthar and Balamb
Erebonian Empire
Gallia-Bruhl
New Akiba
Rubrum
Zanarkand